1) What file types do you accept?

We accept virtually all file types - Mac or PC. The applications that produce the most accurate results are the traditional graphics programs: Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, and InDesign. While we are capable of printing from other applicationssuch as Publisher, Corel, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., you can sometimes run into color issues and formatting problems. Microsoft, for example, makes no claims to color accuracy.They develop their products for the business public, and as such will not guarantee a specific red, only that you will get some kind of red.  Please also note our "No Print Policy" which states that we will not print photos, graphics or language which we deem inappropriate to the degree that it would seriously offend our employees, and/or our local customers who can easily see what we print.

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2) Do we accept PDFs?

Yes! We prefer PDFs as they simplify are more consistently accurate. People who do not like the quality of the PDFs they create are not creating them properly. When creating a PDF for print, always follow these three rules:

A) Do not downsample or compress anything. Uncheck all of the boxes in this area.
B) Embed all fonts and subsets.
C) Leave color AS IS. Do not let Distiller or the application you might be using convert
colors while making the PDF. Leave all colors untouched!

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3) What resolution do you need to print continuous tone, high resolution banners or prints from Photoshop files or other raster based programs?

For banners, the ideal image resolution is for 50 dpi at final print size.   We can certainly use smaller files, but you risk seeing the pixels (the squares) in your graphic. This translates into just over one meg per square foot of banner. The common banner sizes below illustrate this concept:

2x3 ft banner = 6 meg
3x6 ft banner = 18 meg
4x8 ft banner = 48 meg
6x12 ft banner = 72 meg

For banners larger than the above, (and the greater viewing distance), a smaller dpi can be used.  For photoluster, photogloss, and photomatte where the viewing distance is likely to be much closer, 150 dpi at full scale is optimal. This translates into 10 meg per square foot.

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4) My files are not that large. Should I increase the file sizes in Photoshop?

No! Photoshop simply uses averaging to place fake pixels in the file. There is no increase in quality. As you up the file sizes, the new pixels simply blur the image. Your have a choice between small and pixelated, or large and blurry. We say don't waste your time making the files larger.

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5) Should I include my fonts?

Yes. Chances are we will have them, but why risk it. If you using a vector program like Illustrator or Freehand, you can convert the text to outlines and avoid any font issues.

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6) Should I send RGB or CMYK files.

We can print from either, but optimally RGB images will print the best. Reason being that when you convert from RGB to CMYK you go from a source space to a cmyk destination space. The default destination space in most applications is generic SWOP. This is a very small constrained space. Going from RGB to this space is to toss many of the colors you could have had. All of our large format printers are 6 color with very wide gamuts. Ideally, we send RGBSs to the printer with the specific destination printer space in mind. This way we get the widest gamut possible. If you are after fire engine red you can get it. If you go to CMYK with the small default cmyk space as the destination, you will toss the rich reds. Once you toss color going to cmyk and save your file, you can never get the colors back. Going back to RGB later is no improvement.

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7) Can I use spot colors?

Yes! We use sophisticated color dictionaries along with wide gamut printers to achieve close matches. No need to convert.

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8) What is Your Return Policy?

Our policy is to make every possible effort to insure that our customers are highly satisfied with our products and services.  If we have not produced a printed piece satisfactorily with the file and instructions provided to us, customers should return it to us.  Upon receipt of the product, we will replace it or provide a full refund as appropriate.

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9) What Guidelines/Tips do you have for Specific Programs?

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator creates vector graphics therefore any graphics created in Illustrator will print well at any size. Any raster graphics or photos brought into Illustrator need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 24”x36” on a banner, that is 6 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 6 megabytes will print well. If any images are linked, you will need to send the photos with your Illustrator file. Or you can embed the files into the Illustrator file so you just have to send one file. As the last step, please create outlines (Select>All / Type>Create Outlines) in case we don’t

Adobe InDesign

InDesign creates vector graphics therefore any graphics created in InDesign will print well at any size. Any raster graphics or photos brought into InDesign need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 12”x24” on a banner, that is 2 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 2 megabytes will print well.

When the file is ready to print, select File>Package so that all the images and fonts used in your document will be sent with the file. Or you can embed all graphics to store the graphics in the file and you can create outlines so that you don’t have to send the fonts with the file. If you embed a graphic, then make a change to the original graphic, you will need to relink it so the change takes effect.

Or create a high resolution PDF of your InDesign file. In the PDF settings make sure that all compression or downsampling is turned off, embed fonts and turn any color management or correction off.

Adobe PageMaker

(Under Construction - For now, call if you need help)

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a raster program and raster images scale poorly. Taking an existing low resolution file and increasing the dpi does not increase the real resolution of the file. You will just end up with a large

file that is still low resolution. It is best to create a new file in Photoshop at full banner size with a resolution of 50-100 dpi. Anything created in Photoshop at that size will print well. Any raster graphics brought into Photoshop need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 24”x24” on a banner, that is 4 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 4 megabytes will print well. Any vector files brought into Photoshop will need to be rastered using this same formula.

When done creating the file, flatten it and save as a PSD, a TIF with no compression or a JPEG with a compression of 10-12.

Corel Draw

(Under Construction - For now, call if you need help)

Macromedia Freehand

(Under Construction - For now, call if you need help)

Microsoft Excel

It is possible to print banners from Excel files but not recommended. It is very difficult to verify a file created in Excel will be proportional to a large banner. Expect an email from us recommending a different size banner than what was ordered to maintain the proportions. Also, Excel will substitute fonts when opened on another computer if the original fonts are not available and Excel will not warn that fonts have been substituted. Any text created in Excel will print fine. Any raster graphics or photos brought into Excel need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 12”x18” on a banner, that is 1.5 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 1.5 megabytes will print well.

Microsoft PowerPoint

The default page size in PowerPoint is 10x7.5 so all prints made from PowerPoint need to be proportional to that size. However, it is possible to make a custom page size. Before you make your file, select File>Page Setup and choose Custom in the “Slides saved for” dropdown box. Then type in the custom size. To avoid fonts being substituted when we open your file on our computer, select File>Save As and choose Tools>Embed True Type Fonts before you save the file. Any text or graphics created into PowerPoint will print fine. Any raster graphics or photos brought into PowerPoint need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 18”x18” on a banner, that is 2.25 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 2.25 megabytes will print well.

Microsoft Word

It is possible to print banners from Word files but not recommended. It is very difficult to verify a file created on an 8.5x11 page will be proportional to a large banner. Expect an email from us recommending a different size banner than what was ordered to maintain the proportions. Also, Word will substitute fonts when opened on another computer if the original fonts are not available and Word will not warn that fonts have been substituted. Any text or WordArt created in Word will print fine.

Any raster graphics or photos brought into Word need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 12”x12” on a banner, that is 1 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 1 megabyte will print well.

Microsoft Publisher

Publisher creates vector graphics therefore any graphics created in Publisher will print well at any size. Any raster graphics or photos brought into Publisher need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on a banner, that is 3 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 3 megabytes will print well.

Unless the banner you is proportional to 8.5x11 which is Publisher’s default page size, it is better to create your banner file at full size. If you need a 48”x96” banner, then create a custom page size at that size. Choose Custom in Publication Type and type in the dimensions in the Page Size section. If the file was created a full size, select View>Zoom>100% and you will see how the file will look at banner size. You can scroll around and verify everything will look good. If a graphic is jagged or fuzzy, that is how it will look on the banner and you may want to try to get a higher resolution of that graphic.

When you are done creating the file, embed the fonts by selecting Tools>Commercial Printing Tools>Fonts and check the box that says Embed True Type Fonts when saving publication.

Quark Xpress

Quark creates vector graphics therefore any graphics created in Quark will print well at any size. Any raster graphics or photos brought into Quark need to be at least 1 megabyte per square foot for the size it will be on the final banner. For instance, if a graphic will be 12”x24” on a banner, that is 2 square feet so an uncompressed file that is about 2 megabytes will print well. Since there is a 48” limitation in files created in Quark, you may have to make the file at half size or quarter size depending on the final size of the banner.

When the file is ready to print, select File>Collect for Output so that all the images and fonts used in your document will be sent with the file. It is recommended to check the Pictures and Fonts folders that are created by this process to make sure that nothing is missing.

Or create a high resolution PDF of your Quark file. Just make sure that all compression or downsampling is turned off, embed fonts and turn any color management or correction off.

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